How to Play MicroMacro

In Micro Macro you want to solve cases. To solve these cases you need to find particular things on a giant map of Crime City, yes, the first box is called MicroMacro: Crime City. But there is a ton going on. So the game gives you clues as to where things might be on the map and then you need to identify the ones that go with your case.

The person in charge of the clues then verifies that you found the right thing. If you did, you go to the clue. If not, the other players, since the person who verified now knows where and what it is, continue to look for it. When they find the right thing, you progress to the next bit of story or question for the case. You continue that pattern until you’ve found everything for the case.

Then you can play a new case. Each box of MicroMacro comes with a number of cases that you can play. And you even can get an expansion that combines all the maps into a giant map for a larger experience.

What Doesn’t Work

Firstly, is this a game? I think that is going to be something that people struggle with when they talk about it. Not whether or not it’s fun, though some will maybe not find it fun, we’ll talk about that, but is it a game. There is no real lose condition. The clue reader stops playing possibly if you don’t identify the clue on the map. But it’s more of an activity than a game.

This is also a game where you need to like the idea of Where is Waldo. MicroMacro is a big one of that with some story that ties things together in a given case. But it’s really Where is Waldo, so you know if you like the sound of that or not.

Finally, the map is huge. Now, this is a good thing, because there is a ton of detail. But it’s a bad thing because it’s a table hog of a game. So you need to know that and you need space.

What Works

Firstly, the artwork works in the game. And it’s actually pretty awesome how much detail they fit into the huge map. And it’s black and white, so you can color in elements of cases if you want to create kind of your own map. I put it as a negative with how large the map is, but it’s also a positive because with a giant map, you also get so much detail which is awesome.

It is a game that works well for a good medium group of people. This is not a six person game, but it’s a good 3-4 person game. Why, so everyone can see the map. And that’s a positive in my book. It’s something to keep in your head though, as you play. But it makes it a really good collaborative experience as you search around the map.

It is also pretty fast, even the long cases with ten cards don’t take too long. And the short ones can just fly by. So it’s great for playing a few cases. And when it’s something like Where is Waldo, you generally don’t want to do just one. I also like that it is faster the more you play. Why, because you just see things on the map. You spot someone crushed by a piano in case two, good for you, that is going to come back in a later case. And it’s fun when those elements come back around.

Who is MicroMacro For?

This is a great activity/game for people who maybe don’t play as many board games. Or for those who do, it’s great to play when you want a little filler. To me, this is an end of the night game when you want to play a little more, but learning a new game or thinking a lot isn’t in the cards. So if you play like that in your game group, MicroMacro might be great for it.

All of that said, if you dislike Where is Waldo, MicroMacro is not going to be for you. It’s as simple as that, because that is what the game is. And you need to be fine with that as will the people you play with, otherwise it’ll go over like a lead balloon.

Final Grade on MicroMacro

I enjoy this experience. And I think it’s important to talk about it as an experience. Because it isn’t so much of a game as a cooperative Where is Waldo that tells little stories. But that is a concept that for me is fun. So I enjoy it quite well.

Now, I don’t love it. I don’t think it really has major flaws. It is exactly what it looks like. But it’s one of those things where will I want to play it all the time? The answer is going to be no. But some game nights where it’s maybe three or four total of us, sure, it’s going to be great to pull out and play again with the cases we haven’t done yet. And what’s what it should be, it shouldn’t be the greatest game of all time, but it is something that is a lot of fun.

My Grade: B-

I’m only giving my grade here. No casual or gamer grade. I think this is something that everyone knows if they like or not. So I’m just going to keep it simple and say how much I enjoyed it. And luck or strategy make no sense, this is a game of persistence.

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As normal, I am using Pub Meeple to do my rankings. You can find their ranking engine here.

Ranking New Games 35 through 5

35 – KADO
34 – Gold’n Crash
33 – Castellion
32 – Harmonies
31 – Pokemon Old Maid
30 – Karvi
29 – Panda Spin
28 – Unsurmountable
27 – Stalk Exchange
26 – The Royal Limited
25 – At the Helm
24 – Ancient Realm
23 – SpaceShipped
22 – ROVE: Results-Oriented Versatile Explorer
21 – Ext: The Game – Lord of the Rings: Shadows over Middle-earth
20 – Circus Flohcati
19 – A Nice Cuppa
18 – Toy Battle
17 – PUSH
16 – Knister
15 – Luxor
14 – Crafting the Cosmos
13 – The Architects of Amytis
12 – 6 nimmt!
11 – Imhotep
10 – Pyradmido: Forgotten Treasures
9 – One-Hit Heroes
8 – Fromage
7 – Schadenfreude
6 – Symbiose

Quick Thoughts

There are a lot of great games in this section. Everything from Old Maid up I’ll gladly play. And I mainly will gladly play old maid because my kid likes it. Also, I realized I have played old maid before growing up, but I never ranked it. So maybe shouldn’t be on the list.

There are some games where I wonder if they would move higher in other circumstances. Panda Spin, for example, at 29 feels low. But it’s also just okay on Board Game Arena. Would it be a better game in person. The downside of that one is downtime as you might not be able to partake in tricks. But that downtime would be way less.

Also there is a huge clump of Button Shy solo games there in the middle. I like those games. There weren’t any where I thought they were actively annoying or not that great to play. At the same time, there are some that are better than the others, and because it’s just 18 cards, they all fall into that similar feeling category, especially the ones that I’ve played on Malts and Meeples thus far.

Top 5 New Games of Q1

5. Pirates of Maracaibo

This game is great. I love everything that is going on in it and I also love how fast the game is. I wrote up a review of this one already and you can read that here. Just a quick recap, there is a lot going on, but the turns are simple. And there are a ton of ways to explore scoring. I like being able to spend time figuring out new ways to score. And each way to score really does feel good, but you can’t only focus in on one, most likely, you are going to need to get a few working together to do well in the game.

4. The Guild of Merchant Explorers

The next one is another one that I’ve done a review on already. You can read my review for The Guild of Merchant Explorers here. This one I love because I can play it so quickly at two players on BGA, as long as the other player is active. And it is a different puzzle each time you play as you get unique cards for each era. And the scoring objectives, which can easily swing the game, help give the game that more variety as well.

3. Zenith

Yes, another BGA game with a review, but the final of the BGA games, is Zenith and you can read the review here. Zenith is a very fun two player game. And while there are other two player games on the list, the lowest at 34, Zenith stands above with the variety of ways to win the game. It really feels like such a great back and forth two player battle. And that tug of war element where you are trying to get the planets to your side and figuring out how to do that best is great.

2. Clank! Catacombs

Next we have Clank!: Catacombs. We already know that I love Clank in all it’s forms. I’ve streamed the digital app this year as well, but Clank!: Catacombs is probably the best version of Clank!. And that’s really driven by the fact that the game is going to change every time. You don’t know how the tiles are going to come out, and you could decide to build things so it goes off into the distance. That is going to make it more replayable without any expansions, and I think it also makes it easier to have expansions.

1. Marvel Dice Throne: X-Men

The final one is another game that I’ve kind of already played, much like Clank!, but it’s Marvel Dice Throne: X-Men. And this one is great for me because it has two of my favorite players. Beyond that, it is still just more Dice Throne, and I love Dice Throne. I need to pull out my other Marvel characters and have everyone battle together and see who comes out on top. That’s another great thing about Dice Throne, it’s really built for a tournament or competitive play. I wonder if there are any shops around me who are doing the Dice Throne league, that could be something fun to join.

Final Thoughts

That’s all of the new to me games that I’ve played this year. And I know that I’m going to play even more. I am trying to learn new games each week on board game arena and I’ve done a very good job of that thus far. It might become harder later, but I think that I can do it.

Based off of these games, are there any that I should be looking out for in 2025 to tryout? Obviously these aren’t all the games that I’ve played, so I might have played your suggestion already. But let me know those down in the comments. And let me know which games you’ve tried for the first time this year?

Looking around me, I have games like Knarr, Finca, Thunder Rolls, Bomb Busters and a whole lot more that I’ve had come in this year. And there are kickstarters as well, like Dragon Eclipse, Lore, Star Realms, Andromeda’s Edge, and The Dark Quarter that I need to get played as well. So I’m at no shortage of games to get played. And I hope to get a lot of those games played this year, plus the oh so many more that have been on my shelf of opportunity for even longer.

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Initial Impressions on Shadows of the Galaxy

So, let’s talk a bit about Shadows of the Galaxy, the second set of Star Wars Unlimited that Fantasy Flight has put out. Because I like elements of it, but also don’t love other elements. And I know that my quibble is pretty minor. But I want to call it out.

Let’s start out with that quibble. Rightfully so, the first set is rebels versus empire. That is what people want, Darth Vader and Luke. And I like that a lot. But the second set, now, doesn’t continue that. I make mention that I got one more rebel card to use with my Leia and Han deck. And I wish that they’d built up those factions a bit more. Or given even just a few more nods to it in the set.

I get building multiple factions, and that is an element that I like. I love the new Bounty Hunter stuff and the bounty mechanism. So I think they were very smart with adding that in. It adds a very cool element to the game. But at the same time. It is a new faction with bounty hunters, smugglers, resistance, first order. All of them are new elements to the game which waters down the pool.

I assume that Fantasy Flight knows what they are doing. And with that assumption, I also assume that they will continue to flesh out those factions over the next few sets. It seems likely that they’d spend their time adding a bit new, but also revisiting what they’ve done before. If we get a new set two down the line with more rebels and empire, my concern is a moot point. And I think it will get there, but I hope it doesn’t take too long to revisit some of the iconic factions.

Upcoming Streams

On Monday I play small solo game plays. The schedule is, right now, going to look like gaming every other Monday. A chance to see people in person came up for Monday and as much as I like streaming, it’s good to socialize as well. And I might do more deck construction with Star Wars Unlimited on Mondays as well or pack openings. Right now it’ll be more Slay the Spire.

On Wednesdays, I play solo campaign games. I plan on playing a campaign game coming up. Right now I’m torn between two games. Well, more than that if you watched through the end of the video. And that is more of The 7th Citadel. I plan to keep playing through The Drums of Desolation for a while so join me for that.

And if you want to know when I go live, the best way is to subscribe. When you subscribe, click that notification bell and you’ll get an alert whenever I’m going to go live. Follow the link – here – to subscribe.

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The 7th Citadel – Character Story

One element of the game that I haven’t come across, thus far, is the character story elements. Each of them has their own quest, and maybe that ties more into which of the threats you are playing, but none of them are showing up, thus far, in the one that I’m playing.

Is this an issue for The 7th Citadel, I can’t really decide. I’m loving what I’m playing in the game thus far. The game play is very interesting and it has been offering a fun story and quickly play as I go. But I pull out those personal quests each time and am waiting for one of them to trigger, when I see them. However, when I play, I am focused on surviving that it is possible that I’m missing them, especially Arthen’s where it is symbol. I like to think that I’d recognize the words that would trigger Casek’s, but I don’t feel confident.

I expect it is an element of the game that will show up. But when and how much I really don’t know. And is this something that I need to play through this one threat to find all the generic items. Or is it tied to a specific threat, this one or another, so it might not show up? If it is the latter, I wish that they had warned or stated more clearly. And it is possible that I missed it, but I don’t feel like I did. Which is why I suspect I’ve missed something on the board or maybe it is later in the game.

Upcoming Streams

On Monday I play small solo game plays. The schedule is, right now, going to look like gaming every other Monday. A chance to see people in person came up for Monday and as much as I like streaming, it’s good to socialize as well. And I might do more deck construction with Star Wars Unlimited on Mondays as well or pack openings.

On Wednesdays, I play solo campaign games. I plan on playing a campaign game coming up. Right now I’m torn between two games. Well, more than that if you watched through the end of the video. And that is more of The 7th Citadel. I plan to keep playing through The Drums of Desolation for a while so join me for that.

And if you want to know when I go live, the best way is to subscribe. When you subscribe, click that notification bell and you’ll get an alert whenever I’m going to go live. Follow the link – here – to subscribe.

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How To Build A Star Wars Unlimited Deck

Let’s quickly review how deck building works. I talk about it some as I sort cards at the beginning bug if you want the simple rundown it goes as follows.

Leader and Base

You start by selecting your leader and your base. Right now most bases are the same, and I expect that to be the case going forward. They have no power on them, but they have 30 health. The big thing, as you start building, is that your leader and your base are going to give you three different symbols. This can be two colors on the leader and a separate or repeat on the base.

Color and Cards

Those colors don’t determine what you need to put in the deck, but they do make it cheaper. So I built a deck with green, black, and blue. Any of those symbols on a card I add make it cost the listed amount, however, if I’d put in another color, I can, but for each symbol I don’t have, it costs two more. So I should say less cheaper and more there isn’t raised price on them.

Then, as you pick cards to add to the deck, you can have up to three of each card in there. You need a deck that is 50 cards. It is worth noting that neither your leader or you base count towards that total. And, it is worth noting that not all cards work the same way when having three in the deck. There are some cards with a symbol by the name, those are similar to legendary cards in Magic the Gathering. I might have three of them in my deck, but only one can be in play at a time. If I play a second, I need to destroy one of the two.

Cost

And that is really about it. The deck construction is very simple for Star Wars Unlimited. I am not sure on what a great cost curve is for a deck of cards. The starter decks are probably going to be what I base it off of for the most part. But, as I built this deck, I found that I had about 1/5 of the cards that were above 5 cost. Or it might have been at 5 or above.

I expect that is going to maybe be a little bit low. Just with how you play out resources, being that they are cards that you could play, and having a way to get more into play, it seems likely that I might want more higher cost cards. But we’ll see, I need to sleeve it up and give it a whirl to see what happens.

Upcoming Streams

On Monday I stream at 9 PM Central. That is sometimes a bit hit or miss, but that’s the goal. And I do small solo game plays. The schedule is, right now, going to look like gaming every other Monday. A chance to see people in person came up for Monday and as much as I like streaming, it’s good to socialize as well. And I might do more deck construction with Star Wars Unlimited on Mondays as well.

On Wednesdays, I play solo campaign games. I plan on playing a campaign game coming up. Right now I’m torn between two games. Well, more than that if you watched through the end of the video. But 7th Citadel and Sleeping Gods – Distant Skies are right now at the top of my list. Which would you prefer to see?

And if you want to know when I go live, the best way is to subscribe. When you subscribe, click that notification bell and you’ll get an alert whenever I’m going to go live. Follow the link – here – to subscribe.

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There is an issue fixed with what the screen decided to display at the 17 minute mark or so. The screen for the game was not updating even though I was playing the game.

Balatro Game Play

I think what keeps Balatro sticking as a game that I come back to is mainly the upgrade and unlock system. I like the fact game play, but without the system, I’m not sure how much I’d play it. Getting a new joker or deck unlocked is what I’m pushing for. Not because that is always going to make it easier, it might not show up on a future run, but because it offers more possibilities.

Especially with the new jokers that come up. The decks you need to plan on which deck you are going to play. But with a joker, it might come up whenever which could make what you play even better. Like I just unlocked a joker that improves my heart flushes. Well, combine what with the one that already gives you a bonus for playing a heart, and you can create some very strong combinations.

What element of the game seems the most intriguing to you?

Upcoming Streams

On Monday I stream at 9 PM Central. That is sometimes a bit hit or miss, but that’s the goal. And I do small solo game plays. The schedule is, right now, going to look like gaming every other Monday. A chance to see people in person came up for Monday and as much as I like streaming, it’s good to socialize as well.

On Wednesdays, I play solo campaign games. Right now the plan is to switch over to Sleeping Gods: Distant Skies starting next week. See that came hit the table and how it compares to the original Sleeping Gods from Red Raven games. And let me know which campaign games look interesting and you’d want to see played from the list here.

And if you want to know when I go live, the best way is to subscribe. When you subscribe, click that notification bell and you’ll get an alert whenever I’m going to go live. Follow the link – here – to subscribe.

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Find out more on how to play Balatro here.

Balatro vs Slay the Spire

So, my game for a while to randomly play on my computer has been Slay the Spire. Balatro is now here and the question is, will it replace Slay the Spire, or is it even the better game? I plan on doing a full article on this, but let’s highlight some areas where it is better and maybe isn’t.

Balatro’s biggest advantage is that a run in the game is faster. Each round is a few hands versus potentially quite a number of turns. Granted, you want to limit that in Slay the Spire. But it also is more of a question as to what cards I play in what order for Slay the Spire. So that adds to the length of the game because it isn’t just click and play.

Though, that’s also a negative for Balatro. Balatro’s game play is simpler. And that enhances how quickly you can play it. But it also means that more game plays feel the same. Often times I find myself drifting into similar strategies even if I started going for something different. The cards and the Jokers tend to lean themselves in particular directions.

So, I think that Balatro right now will get played more. That stems from Slay the Spire previously being played a lot. And that Balatro is a faster game. It is close, though, and I like Slay the Spire better. But, a quick game often beats out a better game for more game plays. The fact I often play a run in 30-40 minutes versus an hour or hour and a half with Slay the Spire is a big difference.

Upcoming Streams

On Monday I stream at 9 PM Central. That is sometimes a bit hit or miss, but that’s the goal. And I do small solo game plays. The schedule is, right now, going to look like gaming every other Monday. A chance to see people in person came up for Monday and as much as I like streaming, it’s good to socialize as well.

On Wednesdays, I play solo campaign games. Right now the plan is to switch over to Sleeping Gods: Distant Skies starting next week. See that came hit the table and how it compares to the original Sleeping Gods from Red Raven games. And let me know which campaign games look interesting and you’d want to see played from the list here.

And if you want to know when I go live, the best way is to subscribe. When you subscribe, click that notification bell and you’ll get an alert whenever I’m going to go live. Follow the link – here – to subscribe.

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Slay the Spire

Let’s talk a little bit about the Ironclad run, because that one kind of went against my normal goals in creating an Ironclad run. Normally I look to boost my strength as fast as possible and then deal out big damage. Attacks that cost two aren’t a big deal for me because I want to get that one or two big hits that I’ll need to take down the enemy.

This time I went with a bit of a hybrid approach and I think that was not the best call. Mainly, I think that some cards, the higher cost Demon Form, didn’t work out as planned. Yes, it boosted my damage but at the cost of a turn of damage.

Now, with more energy, I didn’t get to four energy after the first boss, that might have been different. More energy definitely makes things easier. And it makes a three cost card like Demon Form not as big a deal to play. But even then, I think I needed to focus more on dealing out small amounts of damage more often with the vulnerable in play. And cards that are cheaper to play are better.

It would also have allowed me to cycle in more defensive cards. The Ironclad can play around with a lot of defense as a strategy, not one I normally go for. But with the strategy that I was playing, I do think it’d have made sense to build up insane amounts of defense. Because it was about hitting often with vulnerable in play.

What’s your favorite Ironclad strategy?

Upcoming Streams

In the next two weeks my plan will be to go through the Board Game Geek Gen Con preview list. I even though about doing that today. But I suspect that there will be more showing up on that list in the next couple of days.

Let’s talk about the normal streaming, though, as this Wednesday at 8 PM Central, I hope to stream more Isofarian Guard. But I am not sure that I will because I get back from out of town that day. Depending on the timing I might not stream that night. Or it might be something else, probably something else. Such as I have Vampire the Masquerade – Chapters that I can unbox. So I expect to do that. Normal streaming schedule is 8:30 PM on Monday and 8 PM on Wednesday, both times Central.

The best way, if you want to know when I go live or a new video goes up (it’s basically always live), please consider subscribing. You can do that here. And click that notification bell on the channel and you’ll always know when I go live.

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Then as people changed jobs and all of us went to new places and had kids, that made it harder to play. It came down to drafting new sets and maybe once a year days of playing commander. Now it is something that I don’t do anymore and I sold my decks and cards for the most part. But I do miss it, so what are the things I miss about the Magic The Gathering and what don’t I?

Deck Building

This is definitely an area that I miss about Magic. I love planning out decks, even if I didn’t use all the greatest cards in them, or create the greatest combos. In fact, I would pretty often figure out ways to create decks around specific cards or mechanics that weren’t that great just to see how they’d work.

In particular, I remember a very expensive card that I built a deck figuring out how to put it in play. My co-worker basically called it a countdown deck. You had a certain amount of time to beat it, and if it built up just enough, it went from great health to you dead in a turn. Or a coin flip deck was another fun one. Did it work? Not that well, but it is fun to create a deck around an absurd mechanic like that to get it as good as possible.

Blind Buying

This is something that I like and don’t like about Magic. And it’ll actually tie into the next one as well. But I like it because there is something about grabbing a pack and opening it up to see what you got in it. See if you got a crazy card that you can build a new deck around, or a staple that allows you to make an existing deck better.

On the flip side, you get a lot of trash in there as well. It is smarter and better to buy cards one off than blind. But the experience of splitting a booster box three ways or two ways and just having an evening of sitting around and opening packs, that is great. Especially because we weren’t trying to maximize our money off of it.

Common Cards

However, with blind buying does come one issue, and that is that you just get a ton of cards out of it. I think I had several thousand common and uncommon cards that were worth a penny each. So that is annoying. Either you sell them online as a lot, trade them to a local game store, or just store them. And I stored them for a long time and that takes up a lot of room. Less than you might think, but also more because you open up a few boxes or buy a booster pack when you walk past the rack at Target, you add up fast.

That is the huge downside to buying blind. I want to get that feeling of opening up something great, but because you get so many cards, you mainly get junk. And now you need to do something with those junk commons, which can be making a pauper deck.

Magic The Gathering Events

This one is also a mixed bag because most of the time it is fun. But also, most of the time I would prefer to do it with my friends not an official one. Why, because at an official one there are always some people who take it way to seriously.

With friends you crack open some packs, draft some cards and have a good time with it. In fact, we’d normally instate the rule of you keep the rare card from your pack at the end of the day. That doesn’t happen in an official event that is drafted, so if there is a great card and it doesn’t work for your deck you take it because it’s worth money. That isn’t fun, but that is how it works.

Final Thoughts on Magic The Gathering

I miss playing Magic The Gathering, I miss having that group that we could sit down at lunch and play. Or get together on a Friday after work, have some pizza and knock out some games. But I also don’t miss it in some ways.

And what I know about Magic’s process now, I am glad, in some ways I got out when I did. When I left Magic the Modern Masters set was a new thing. A chance to get those awesome older cards that if you came in later, like I did, you didn’t get from a random blind pack as you weren’t buying them then. But it was expensive, and they have just added more expensive sets since then. And they aren’t a one off thing they are more and more common.

I still do own a few decks though, not that many cards in it, but some fun ones. I debate from time to time if it is worth keeping them. That said, I haven’t played in years, but some of the EDH/Commander decks that I like, I kind of want to keep. And maybe, someday, I’ll play them again.

Do you play Magic The Gathering? What is your favorite way to play? Or what colors did you normally play, I was a Simic or Izzet player pretty often.

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The Plot – Solo Leveling

Sung Jinwoo is a hunter. But he isn’t a good hunter, in fact, he is the weakest hunter out there. He needs to do it because he got the power, but also to help support his mother in the hospital and his sister. But, every time he comes back from a hunt, he is always beat up.

This all started when weird portals or gateways started to show up around the world. He and some lucky others were given powers to be hunters. This might mean great at combat or it might mean that they can heal others. Jinwoo just isn’t good at any of them. But when things go wrong in a dungeon, he finds that his life is going to change forever.

What Doesn’t Work?

While this does some different things, I’ll talk about them later, it does feel somewhat derivative of other manga that I’ve read. Technically without it being manga, I believe, since it is South Korean. But the elements there match what I’ve read before. I would say that Lit RPG might even be a better example of what it is doing. And I also compare it to Isekai that I’ve read.

And secondly, what I don’t consider to be a major knock, is that this is violent, at least to more of a level than a lot of manga. Solo Leveling is full color, so blood looks like blood. And there is a lot of violence. More, to me, this is something that if you don’t know it’s going to be there might be a surprise. For the story it is telling it works though.

What Works?

I think that the main character is interesting. His motivations for being in the dungeons, we get to see it in flashbacks, are meaningful. This is the real world, minus the portals and hunters, and he’s doing what he needs to to take care of his family. That feels more real than a lot of characters randomly thrust into another world.

The characters also do real world type things in non-real world type situations. The conversations that they have when they go into the dungeon that kickoff the story aren’t in awe of the dungeon. It is something that is common place in their world. And going on a hunt to clear a dungeon is a job. Conversations around it are normal conversations as people talk about life, love, family, things that normal people talk about.

And I like that it is in color. I’m not sure if this should go here or be in my final thoughts, but it is something that works. The color on the page is nice. It gives it more of that comic feel and I think makes the story that much more immersive. And it isn’t like a page full of color but is used with the blank space on the page, to convey the story really well.

How Does It Compare?

I want to talk about what I compare this to, because it is my normal comic or manga that I read and write about. But it is also different. Thinking about it, I compare it in some ways to something like Blood, Blockade, Battlefront. But the monsters and creatures aren’t coming through. I also compare it to LitRPG’s that I’ve read. There is one where towers appear in the world and now monsters and magic are a thing.

But in terms of manga that I’ve read, I think it does feel different. There is a game like element to it. It does have some of that DNA that you see in things like Sword Art Online. This fantasy element and dungeon clearing element. And there are real life consequences to failure, But they are different. In Sword Art Online, someone dies, and we see them disappear in a game. here, characters address it to the real world immediately. That just adds weight to what the characters are doing.

At the same time, it is about a character leveling up. So while it does feel like there is a bit more weight to it, the basics of it are familiar. Going into a dungeon, fighting, and trying to make a living, survive, and level up, it is what we’ve seen before in a lot of anime or manga. Solo Leveling doesn’t stray too far from the expected tropes.

Final Thoughts on Solo Leveling

Solo Leveling is definitely a comic that I want to keep reading. And it is getting an anime adaptation. I want to read more of the comic and I might even want to read the light novels or LitRPG novels that the comics are based off of.

Like I said in the last section, I think that Solo Leveling, while it is familiar, does feel different. Blood Blockade Battlefront is one that it really does compare to for me. Placing a character into a world where there are real consequences and consequences to the real world feels different.

That does, I do want to see how the main character continues to progress. I think what they’ve done so far makes a lot of sense. I don’t see them leading the character down a dark path, but if they do, it would mess with my enjoyment of the series. The characters reasoning wouldn’t lead that way, but it is hard to tell. And the covers make it feel like it might, at times.

I also hope that it doesn’t just become another, here’s a boss monster, let’s level up this character and make them really powerful. That doesn’t fit with what the story has been thus far either. It should be a struggle for Jinwoo throughout. But because of who he is, and what he needs to do, he can level up and overcome.

Let me know if you’ve read this comic? Is it something that you’re interested in reading or watching the anime of when it comes out? Supposedly coming out in 2023, or is it one you’ll pass on?

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